UNHRC: TUNISIAN SUPPORT FOR BELARUS CANNOT BE

C O N F I D E N T I A L TUNIS 000590 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR IO/RHS-OSTERMEIER, DRL/MLGA-SICADE, NEA/MAG-HOPKINS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017 TAGS: PHUM PREL UNHRC TS SUBJECT: UNHRC: TUNISIAN SUPPORT FOR BELARUS CANNOT BE RULED OUT REF: A. STATE 63345 ¶B. STATE 64169 Classified By: Ambassador Robert F. Godec for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Deputy Chief of Mission on May 10 delivered Ref A demarche to MFA Americas Director Holla Bachtobji, who served at the Tunisian Mission in Geneva prior to taking up her current position, and at the GOT's UN Mission in New York prior to that. Embassy has also double-tracked the demarche, including the updated information in Ref B, with MFA Director for UN and International Organizations Affairs Mokhtar Chaouachi. As is often the case with such demarches, the MFA has so far offered no substantive response. We are continuing to pursue higher-level demarches, as well. ¶2. (C) Our assessment of the GOT's intentions vis-a-vis the upcoming UNHRC elections is that Tunisian support for Belarus cannot be ruled out. Since Tunisia has been the subject of USG criticism for its own human rights record, the GOT will not be receptive to arguments that Belarus does not merit a seat due to its poor human rights record. Indeed, the GOT would probably favor having Belarus on board, presumably because it would help dilute any critical UNHRC resolutions on country situations. The GOT will probably also be inclined to support Bosnia, a fellow OIC member state. ¶3. (C) High-level demarches can have an impact on GOT voting in such elections, but there is still the possibility that Tunisia will take cover in the secret ballot to vote as it wishes. In the context of last Fall's elections for the GRULAC seat on the UN Security Council, high-level demarches probably did help persuade the GOT to vote for Guatemala, rather than Venezuela, at least in the latter rounds of voting. (Note: Given the closeness of that at election, there were multiple rounds. End Note.) That said, we also believe that Tunisia took cover in the secret ballot, at least in the early stages of voting, to support Venezuela, even though GOT interlocutors assured us otherwise. GODEC